While Ky helped one friend drive down the Baja, and then pet sit for another friend once he got there, I had a 3 week solo road trip from Gilbert, AZ to Seattle, WA. It's rare for us to have time apart, and this period was the longest we have ever been apart since we were engaged to be married in 1988!
Google Maps doesn't support such a long trip as this one, and it limits a user to only 10 destinations on one map. I kluged one together, which was no small feat. As you can see is was 2,189 miles and 38 hours of driving. This didn't include all the small side trips that made the driving way more fun. The driving was surprisingly simple by stopping frequently and meeting people and playing pickleball of course!
At the end of my trip as I pulled in to the cell phone parking lot at Sea Tac Airport, the happiness of seeing Ky again was on my mind. We had been apart for one day shy of three weeks. Mind blowing that we have been apart so little in just over 38 years! My solo road trip was coming to an end. Without hesitation I can say it was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. It was amazing to meet so many wonderful people, to think my own thoughts, to eat when I wanted to and to skip meals when I didn’t want to eat. Selfishly, I could also eat a whole dessert without sharing! When my strange sleeping habits woke me in the middle of the night, I didn’t have to worry about waking Ky up. My snoring wasn’t bothering anyone, except maybe the cats that I pet sat.
But the downsides of not having Ky around were numerous. I missed being able to read or work on the computer while he did some of the driving. I missed having a drilling partner on empty pickleball courts. It was all up to me to pack the vehicle, which is his forte. While the food things I mentioned earlier above seem like advantages, he wasn’t around to help me finish off a dish when it was too big for me. He's also my food tester for bell peppers since I’m allergic to them, and he lets me know if food is going to be too spicy for me.He also does a fabulous job of keeping the windshield clean! The rest of the things that I missed are best left private. ; - )
If you’ve ever thought or dreamed about doing a solo road trip, I would say as Nike does, “Just Do It”. If you want more information about any of the places I stopped, take a look at my Coffeys2Go Pickleball Facebook page. I was posting most days of the trip. Hit the button below or go to https://www.facebook.com/Coffeys2GoPB.
Here is just a sampling of the places that I highly recommend, just a few of the amazing people I met along the way, and a couple of adorable pets.
People always want to know about our “favorites”. It is hard to pick just one from this trip. People really did make different places the best experiences. If I had to choose the best courts though, it would be the Evergreen Valley Courts in San Jose. For any communities wanting to plan new courts, take a look at those. They are beautiful and well planned.
For the place I would most like to return, that’s a really tough choice, but probably Santa Barbara. I would love to get a lesson with Dayne Gingrich. That would have to be planned well in advance though because he’s a busy man making informative and helpful TikToks as well as giving lessons.
Thank you immensely for following along on my adventures. Your kind words and thoughtful messages and comments mean so much to me. The friends I’ve made along the way are definitely the absolute best part of the journey. Smooches and hugs to you all! I thank God for every moment of the trip.
More posts with my travel buddy and life partner to come. "Like" and/or "Follow" this website and my Coffeys2Go Pickleball page so you don't miss any! Please share your favorite posts with a friend or a group. I appreciate that!
Here is the list of all the place I played on this trip. For more info on any of them see the posts I wrote about them.
Quartzite, AZ - Holiday Palms RV Park (and no, we are not RVers - this was just a quick stretching pit stop) La Quinta, CA - Fritz Burns Park Palm Springs, CA - Demuth Park Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Municipal Tennis & Pickleball Courts Pismo Beach, CA - Palisades Park Templeton, CA - Templeton Tennis Ranch Paso Robles, CA - Private Home - @ThePickleballHouse San Francisco, CA - Louis Sutter Park San Jose, CA - Evergreen Valley College Novato, CA - Hill Recreation Area Santa Rosa, CA - Howarth Park Rohnert Park, CA - Sunrise Park Santa Rosa, CA - Finley Park Santa Rosa, CA - Private Home Eureka, CA - Blue Lake Park Eureka, CA - College of the Redwoods Eureka, CA - Private Home of Wendy & Jack Haase Eureka, CA - Private Home Springfield, OR - Bob Keefer Center Tualatin, OR - Tualatin Community Park Lake Oswego, OR - George Rogers Park
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